For the month of December, NCBWL is collecting donations for Our Kids and the Material Assistance Closet at Catholic Charities. Most needed items currently for the Catholic Charities Closet are:

• wipes 
• baby blankets
• winter clothing 18 month - 4 T  
• blankets

All items can be new or gently used. 

Our Kids is a Nashville nonprofit that provides expert medical evaluations and crisis counseling in response to concerns of child sexual abuse. Every child that visits them receives a toy. Most needed items currently for Our Kids:

• Doc McStuffins toys
• Action figures for boys
• Play doctor kits
• Disney Princess dolls (ethnically diverse if possible)
• Items for teens

If you are attending the Christmas party, you can bring them and we will deliver them for you. Or if you can't make the party, you can drop the items off yourself. Thank you for your generosity to help those in need this holiday season! 

2020: Celebrating our 70th Anniversary

Did you know we are the first and oldest Catholic business organization in Nashville? The first business meeting of the NCBWL was held at the Hermitage Hotel in 1949, and a year later officers were chosen to lead the league. 

As we enter our 70th year, it’s time to honor and celebrate our organization’s rich heritage. A plan is in place to do just that, and work is being done to strengthen our foundation — making it “built to last.”

Every month in 2020, you will learn something new about the NCBWL as we roll out a PR plan designed to educate members and the greater Nashville Catholic community on our past and present. Debbie Lassiter, Peggy Hunt and Kim Hoover lead this effort and would appreciate your help to spread the good news about our great works over the years.

Every month in 2020, we will strive to make 70 acts of kindness and/or donations to help improve the communities in which we live and work. Lisa Link as our social action chair will be letting us know how we can all contribute.

Every month in 2020, we will work to increase our membership, aiming for at least 70 new members during the year. Teri Gordon and Lynne Warne would like to meet with all of the parish women’s clubs in the diocese and with the staffs at area Catholic schools. Please contact Teri or Lynne if you have connections!

As a capstone for our year, we will hold a special event at the Hermitage Hotel next November. It will be spectacular, so you won’t want to miss it! Kathy Langan and Ellen Wade are chairing this and will ask all the past board members to attend and be recognized for their contributions.

It takes a village to get things done, of course, so if you’re interested in helping with any of these activities and haven’t already raised your hand, know that volunteers are always welcome! Contact Lynne Warne for more info: lynnewarne42@gmail.com / 615-974-6003.

Join us for a visit with the Sisters

This Saturday, NCBWL members will be visiting the Dominican Sisters and Sisters of Mercy delivering Christmas gifts. All are welcome to join in the gift-giving and visits. It’s an excellent way to kick off the Christmas season! 

The schedule is as follows:

• 9:30 a.m.: meet at the Sisters of Mercy Convent (20 Sisters reside here) at 2629 Pennington Bend Rd, Nashville TN 37214. Come all the way around to the back door, across from brick wall. 
• 10:30 a.m.: leave and drive to the Dominican Infirmary (9 Sisters are in the infirmary) at 801 Dominican Dr, Nashville TN 37228
• 11 a.m.: Arrive at the Dominican Motherhouse and depart by noon.

We will have gift bags full of goodies upon arrival. If you would like to make a monetary donation to help fund these items, please mail your donation to:

NCBWL 

PO Box 50994

Nashville, Tennessee 37205   

Advent Spiritual Experience for NCBWL

This quarter's spiritual enrichment event will be a concert "Choral Music for Advent" followed by dinner. NCBWL will meet for a choral event Cathedral of the Incarnation at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 15, followed by dinner at Amerigo’s on West End.

Please RSVP to Donna Adams at kentdonnaadams@icloud.com 

President’s Message

As I contemplated a letter to you all for this newsletter, I kept thinking of Advent and what it means to us as Catholics and as Catholic business women. We are all in the throws of preparing for the Christmas season. Many of us have probably just gotten the house back in order after the Thanksgiving feast and are frantically looking at calendars filled with parties, shopping excursions, church functions, family commitments, food preparation and business commitments. It can seem overwhelming. At least to me it is. 
    Advent means “coming”. But to us it means a time of preparation – PREPARE AND BE READY. Let us during this time take a deep breath and remember the meaning of the season. To slow down and reflect on the meaning of the season. Being busy doesn’t mean we have forgotten that Christmas is the birth of Christ, we just need to remember why we are so busy. I think we all reach out and touch many people during this season and all the activities are there for a reason. As we prepare during this Advent season, let us remember that everything we do is for His glory and in preparation for His coming.

    The words of Isaiah come to mind:      
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called 
    Wonderful Counselor, 
    Mighty God, 
    Everlasting Father, 
    Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6

Have a Blessed Advent,

Teri Gordon, NCBWL President

LEAGUE BUSINESS NEWS:

MEETING VENUE CHANGE    

We have changed the location of the monthly meetings for January, February and March 2020. The dinner meetings will remain on the third Wednesday of the month but will move to Temple Hills Country Club. The price of the dinner was increasing at Richland Country Club and Temple Hills could accommodate us at the current price of $35.  

HONORING FATHER MICHAEL

In honor of our chaplain, Fr. Michael O’Bryan, we will be collecting money to help retire the building debt at Father’s former parish, St. Frances Cabrini. Father O’Bryan has been the Spiritual Advisor for NCBWL for 10 years. In August, Father retired from active ministry, but is continuing as our spiritual advisor. When asked what we could do to honor him he didn’t want anything for himself, just a donation to his former parish. If you would like to contribute, send a check to the P.O. box (address below), make a donation online or we will be collecting donations at the Christmas party.

NCBWL FEATURED ON WE BELIEVE

NCBWL President Teri Gordon will be appearing on the “We Believe” radio show on Nashville Catholic Radio to discuss the Nashville Catholic Women’s League and our history. The taping is Thursday, Dec. 5, but we do not have a date yet for when it will air.  The broadcast is available on the radio and online. On the radio you can find Nashville Catholic Radio at FM 100.5, WBOU, and the We Believe Show, weekdays at 11 a.m. We will post on Facebook and our website when we have details about the episode with Teri.

To review the minutes from the Nov. 14 board meeting, please click below.